Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 7, 2026

Our commitment to privacy

Naturewise Columbus publishes Ribbit! Magazine and operates ribbitmagazine.com and naturewisecolumbus.org. We care about the privacy of children, families, educators, donors and other members of our community.

This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, when it may be shared and the choices available to you.

Information we collect

The information we collect depends on how you use our websites and forms.

Donations

When you make a donation, we may collect:

• Your name
• Mailing address
• Email address
• Phone number, when provided
• Donation amount
• Information needed to issue a donation receipt
• Information about the date and method of your donation

Online payments are processed by a third-party payment provider. Naturewise Columbus does not store complete credit or debit card numbers.

Online shop

Online Shop and Order Fulfillment
Our online shop is operated through WooCommerce. When you place an order, we collect the information necessary to process your purchase, including your name, contact information, billing address, shipping address and order details. Payment information is processed by our payment provider and is not stored directly by Naturewise Columbus. We share the information necessary to produce and deliver your order with Printful, our printing and fulfillment provider. Printful processes this information according to its own privacy policy.

Newsletters and communications

When you join our email list or contact us, we may collect:

• Your name
• Email address
• Information included in your message
• Your communication preferences

Newsletter participation is voluntary. You may unsubscribe at any time by using the link provided in an email or contacting us.

Educator and distribution requests

When an educator or community organization requests magazines or asks to become a distribution location, we may collect:

• The contact person’s name
• Email address and phone number
• School, organization or distribution location
• Mailing or delivery address
• Grade levels or age groups served
• Number of magazines requested
• Information about the intended use of the magazines

We use this information to respond to requests, plan quantities, coordinate delivery and understand the communities Ribbit! serves.

Share Your Wild Side submissions

The Share Your Wild Side form must be completed by a parent or legal guardian who is at least 18 years old. Through this form, we may collect:

• The parent or legal guardian’s full name
• Relationship to the child
• Email address
• Mailing address
• Phone number, when provided
• The child’s first name
• The child’s age
• The child’s city and state
• A photograph, scan or PDF of the child’s story or artwork
• Information about what inspired the submission, when provided
• Agreement selections
• The parent or legal guardian’s electronic signature
• The date and time of submission

Parents and guardians should not upload a photograph showing the child’s face or include the child’s last name, school name, home address, phone number or other identifying information in the submitted file.

How we use information

We use information to:

• Process donations and provide donation receipts
• Process shop orders and provide customer service
• Respond to questions and requests
• Send newsletters when someone has chosen to subscribe
• Manage educator and distribution requests
• Plan and deliver classroom sets and community distribution
• Administer Share Your Wild Side
• Determine which participants receive a Flipkins toy
• Mail toys and thank-you cards
• Review and publish submitted stories or artwork as permitted by the Submission Terms
• Maintain the security and proper operation of our websites
• Understand and improve our programs, publications and website
• Maintain records required for administrative, accounting or legal purposes

We do not use personal information in ways that are materially different from those described in this policy without providing appropriate notice and choice.

Children’s privacy

Ribbit! is created for children and families, but forms requesting personal information are intended to be completed by adults.

We do not knowingly ask children under 13 to provide personal information directly through our forms. A parent or legal guardian must submit a child’s work and provide the required permission.

If we learn that personal information was submitted directly by a child without the involvement of a parent or legal guardian, we will take reasonable steps to delete it. Parents and guardians may contact us to ask what information we maintain, request corrections, withdraw permission for future uses or request deletion where appropriate.

We do not sell children’s personal information or use information submitted about a child for targeted advertising or profiling.

Submitted stories and artwork

The child retains ownership of the submitted story or artwork.

When a parent or legal guardian submits the Share Your Wild Side form and provides an electronic signature, they give Naturewise Columbus permission to use the work as described in the Share Your Wild Side Submission Terms.

When published, a submission may be accompanied by the child’s first name, age and city. We will not publish the child’s last name, school, home address, email address or phone number.

A parent or legal guardian may contact us to request that the work no longer be used in future online or promotional materials. We will make reasonable efforts to honor the request. We may not be able to recall printed magazines or materials that have already been distributed. Content previously shared by others may also remain outside our control.

How information may be shared

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information.

We may share limited information with service providers that help us operate our websites and programs, including:

• Website hosting and form providers
• Payment and donation processors
• Online shop and order-fulfillment providers
• Email newsletter providers
• File-storage providers
• Printing, mailing and delivery providers
• Technology and website-security providers

These providers receive only the information reasonably necessary to perform their services.

We may also disclose information if required by law, necessary to protect the safety or rights of a person or necessary to investigate misuse of our websites or forms.

Wild Republic® provides Flipkins toys for the Share Your Wild Side activity but does not receive children’s submissions or personal information from Naturewise Columbus for marketing purposes.

Website information and cookies

Our websites and service providers may automatically collect limited technical information, such as:

• Internet Protocol address
• Browser and device type
• Pages visited
• Date and time of a visit
• Referring website
• General website usage information

This information may be collected through cookies and similar technologies. We use it to operate the websites, maintain security and understand general website use.

We do not knowingly use information collected from children for targeted advertising. You may adjust your browser settings to limit or block cookies, although some website features may not function properly as a result.

Data security

We use reasonable physical, electronic and administrative safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse or disclosure.

No website, storage system or method of internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We limit access to personal information to people and service providers who reasonably need it to perform their work.

Data retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.

• Donation and financial records may be retained as required for accounting, tax and legal purposes.
• Newsletter information is retained until the subscriber unsubscribes or asks us to delete it.
• Educator and distribution information may be retained while the person or organization continues to receive Ribbit! or communicate with us.
• Mailing addresses and other information used only to deliver Share Your Wild Side gifts will be deleted within six months after the gifts are delivered unless continued retention is necessary to resolve a delivery issue or meet a legal obligation.
• Share Your Wild Side files not selected for publication will be deleted within six months after the submission period closes.
• Submission files selected for publication may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary for the uses authorized in the Submission Terms.
• General inquiries may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to respond and maintain appropriate organizational records.

When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to delete or securely dispose of it.

Your choices

You may contact us to:

• Ask what personal information we maintain about you or your child
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of information when appropriate
• Withdraw permission for future online or promotional use of a child’s submission
• Update your mailing or communication preferences
• Unsubscribe from newsletters

We may need to verify your identity and relationship to the child before completing a request.

Third-party websites

Our websites may contain links to websites operated by other organizations. Naturewise Columbus is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing information.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as our programs, websites or legal obligations change. The updated policy will be posted on our website with a new effective date.

Material changes affecting children’s information or previously granted permissions will be handled with appropriate notice and consent when required.

Contact us

Questions, concerns and privacy requests may be sent to:

Naturewise Columbus
P.O. Box 59
Blacklick, OH 43004
contact@naturewisecolumbus.org